Lung cancer, the leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide, will account for an estimated 157,000 deaths in the United States this year. Approximately 85 to 90% of all cases of lung cancer are non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). There are three main forms of NSCLC, which are classified according to histological subtype: adenocarcinoma (accounting for 40% of lung cancers), squamous cell carcinoma (25%) and large-cell carcinomas (10%). Advanced-stage NSCLC is currently considered an incurable disease for which standard chemotherapy provides marginal improvement in overall survival at the expense of substantial morbidity and mortality. Furthermore, fewer than 30% of patients with metastatic NSCLC have a response to platinum-based chemotherapy, the most commonly used initial treatment in this stage of the disease. Although newer chemotherapeutic agents, such as bevacizumab, have been introduced, the median overall survival of patients with metastatic NSCLC remains approximately 1 year (Sandler et al., 2006, N. Engl. J. Med., 355:2542; Schiller et al., 2002, N. Engl. J. Med., 346:92), and only 3 to 4% of patients with metastatic NSCLC survive 5 years after diagnosis.